Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Live and learn and then keep on keepin' on

You know, the whole do-what-you-love-and-make-enough-money-to-keep-doing-what-you-love thing.

Well, I love makin' things. Yep, makin' things is my thing that I love. You could even say I love things that I can be busy makin'.

But now it's time to make money.

Within the last year I got serious about the business end of this venture I call SJL Original. Let's get this revenue train in motion, I said to myself. I'm a metaphor gal. Just thought you should know.

When I got serious I managed to learn a few lessons:

1. Have a little confidence for goodness' sake.
Not everyone is going to like fuzzy wool balls dangling from their earlobes. I get that. But I like fuzzy earlobes. And I am not an anomaly, my friends; there are plenty more of me-types out there who also might like dangly fuzz balls.

2. There is not enough time. raise your hand if went into a Saved By The Bell rant just now...anyone?
Time, I crave it. I put it on my Christmas list. I never, ever have enough of it. And because I still haven't transitioned out of my full time job and into my SJL job I still have 40+ hours each week that are spoken for. Leaving three hours between coming home and bedtime to create stock, fill orders, and market.

Oh my.

3. Speaking of marketing....sheesh.
Blogging takes time; I am not usually eloquent on my first try. Twitter takes time. Facebook takes time. And when I already have so much competing for my three hours at night there's less I can actually do.

4. It goes without saying that time management is, um, necessary.
I make lists. For everything. But lists for SJL work saves my sanity. Prioritizing All. The. Stuff. is what gets orders done. Not timely, but done.

5. Coffee is not the enemy.
I was against needing coffee for a very long time; I don't like to have to be dependent on stuff. But I caved. I need it. On those nights when I have no choice but to work until midnight and still get up for the other job in the morning, I neeeeed it. And that's ok.

6. Disappointment is not the enemy, either.
Don't get me wrong, disappointments suck. I've attended some pretty dismal craft fairs, and there have been months of stagnant sales in stores, but once I got over the boo-hoos I felt better and energized to refresh my products.

7. Take a risk, already!
I paid to have a blog designed specifically for me. I signed up for craft fairs I know very little about. I ordered bags of wool in colors I don't normally use. But, I didn't go for a full website with all the whistles and bells. I didn't choose unknown craft fairs states away. And I didn't opt to have three pounds of fuchsia wool sent to my doorstep. I went outside my comfort zone but not too far that I couldn't recover.

...

Unless we're talking about obscure 90's TV shows, I am by no means an expert at this.